The Amber Alert system was initially developed in Texas to involve the public in the search for abducted children. The basic idea was to rapidly broadcast information pertaining to child abductions to a vast public audience in hopes that someone can provide a lead for investigators. Typically, information was broadcast over conventional media outlets such as television. The Amber Alert system took the process a step further by broadcasting information over a series of large electronic bulletin boards dispersed throughout the highways of Texas and other states. The original intent of the electronic bulletin boards was to inform commuters of traffic delays, weather conditions, and the like. Amber Alert added public service announcements as a type of information that can also be disseminated.
For instance, if a child has been abducted by a man in a green station wagon, this information can be rapidly broadcast to everyone driving within sight of a bulletin board. The system is effective because it targets current drivers, the segment of the public that is most likely to spot the vehicle in question. The Amber Alert message gives a phone number where anyone can report a sighting to law enforcement.
The Amber Alert system has been credited with the safe return of many abducted children. Many other states have adopted the Amber Alert system and there is pending national legislation in the United States for a federal Amber Alert system.
The present invention is designed to take the current Amber Alert system to another level by incorporating mobile phone text messaging as a means for disseminating Amber Alert messages to the public at large.